The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Shanghai Municipal Financial Services Office (SFSO) held the 3rd Singapore-Shanghai Financial Forum (SSFF) in Singapore today. The SSFF is an annual forum that brings together industry participants from Singapore and Shanghai to discuss pertinent market developments and explore financial collaboration opportunities.
More than 200 participants from Singapore and Shanghai attended the SSFF. With the theme, “Strengthening Singapore-Shanghai Collaboration in a Changing Financial World Order”, participants discussed deepening financial linkages between Singapore and Shanghai, to anchor both cities as leading financial centres.
In a first for the SSFF, nine Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) were signed between Singapore and Shanghai financial institutions and corporates. Here are three instances:
- Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and SGX signed an agreement to deepen capital market cooperation and encourage more Chinese corporates to tap Singapore’s capital markets
- OCBC and Bank of Shanghai also pledged to work closely together to extend their collaboration across multiple businesses
- UOB and Nufin Data Private Limited further agreed to co-develop data analytics solutions to more efficiently serve the bank’s clients in Shanghai and other parts of China
Ms. Jacqueline Loh, Deputy Managing Director of MAS, said, “This edition of the SSFF takes Singapore-Shanghai financial cooperation to new heights, with entities from both sides forging agreements to work closer together. This reflects the success of the SSFF in bringing industry participants together, as well as delivering outcomes that benefit financial institutions and corporates. We will build on the strong partnership with our Shanghai counterparts to facilitate greater collaboration as we navigate the new financial world order.”
In his keynote address at the SSFF, Mr. Jin Xingming, Deputy Secretary General of the Shanghai Municipal Government, said, “Following many years of development, Shanghai has anchored its role as China’s top financial centre and laid the foundations as a global centre for RMB innovation, trading, pricing and clearing. In the face of new opportunities and challenges presented by the changing global financial world order, Shanghai and Singapore can deepen cooperation in the three areas of RMB internationalisation, developing the Belt and Road Initiative and strengthening FinTech capabilities.”
In delivering the closing remarks, Mr. Zheng Yang, Director General, Shanghai Municipal Financial Services Office, said, “The insights shared by the conference participants were useful and inspirational. The multiple MOUs signed between the financial institutions and corporates from both sides is a testament to the conference’s fruitful outcomes. There is huge potential for Shanghai-Singapore financial cooperation. Shanghai is willing to work together with Singapore in fostering multi-level, multi-dimensional and practical cooperation, to further the development of the New Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.”
